MLB News

Grandal's triple lifts Maeda to 10th victory

By
Ken Gurnick and Thomas HardingMLB.com

DENVER -- With a two-run triple, Yasmani Grandal powered the Dodgers to a 4-2 win Thursday night that avoided a series sweep by the Rockies, who have crept into the National League Wild Card chase that the Dodgers still lead.

Grandal's triple off Tyler Chatwood capped a three-run rally that included the 19th home run of the season by rookie Corey Seager, who tied Hanley Ramirez for the Los Angeles Dodgers single-season record for home runs by a shortstop.

DENVER -- With a two-run triple, Yasmani Grandal powered the Dodgers to a 4-2 win Thursday night that avoided a series sweep by the Rockies, who have crept into the National League Wild Card chase that the Dodgers still lead.

Grandal's triple off Tyler Chatwood capped a three-run rally that included the 19th home run of the season by rookie Corey Seager, who tied Hanley Ramirez for the Los Angeles Dodgers single-season record for home runs by a shortstop.

Kenta Maeda pitched 5 2/3 innings for the win, raising his record to 10-7 and becoming the 13th Dodgers rookie pitcher with double-digits in wins. He also snapped a streak of three consecutive starts by Dodgers pitchers of four innings or less and is 2-0 at Coors Field this year. Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 32nd save.

"We couldn't have scripted it any better," said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts. "Yasmani got the big hit, Corey hit the home run, Kenta threw well and kept those guys off balance, the bullpen did its job. For us to salvage this series was huge."

Chatwood is 4-7 with a 5.72 ERA in 11 starts at home, 6-0 and 1.30 in nine starts on the road. David Dahl's two-run homer in the fourth inning accounted for the Rockies' runs.

Three of the four runs that Chatwood gave up in his six innings came on two changeups in the fifth, on Seager's homer and Grandal's two-out triple. Those pitches led to the Rockies, who are three games out of the second National League Wild Card, falling for the sixth time in 20 games since the All-Star break.

"Those two pitches cost us the game right there," said Chatwood, who coaxed two double-play grounders and pitched out of traffic most of his outing. "I don't really throw that pitch a lot. I left it up in the zone and they didn't miss it."

MOMENTS THAT MATTEREDReddick run:Josh Reddick, acquired from Oakland on Monday, put the Dodgers on the board in the fourth inning by leading off with a walk and scoring his first Dodgers run on Howie Kendrick's single to left. Reddick is still looking for his first Dodgers hit.

#TheRealDahl: In the fourth inning with a 2-0 count, Dahl missed badly on Maeda's curve -- a pitch that gave Dahl trouble on a first-inning strikeout. But Dahl crushed Maeda's next pitch, an 89.9 mph fastball. Dahl's homer to dead center, projected by Statcast™ to have traveled 428 feet, gave him a 10-game hit streak to begin his Major League career. The only longer streak to begin a career in Rockies history was Juan Pierre's 16-gamer in 2000. More »

Descalso exits:Daniel Descalso, playing left field, left the game after the third inning with a left shoulder contusion when he crashed headfirst into the outfield wall while completing a catch on Seager's flyout. He stayed in the rest of the inning but was lifted for Rafael Ynoa in the top of the fourth. Descalso became the regular shortstop after Trevor Story's regular season-ending thumb injury.

Colorado's outfield depth was already depleted with Carlos Gonzalez day to day with a left ankle sprain, Ryan Raburn limited to pinch-hit duty because of a right quadriceps strain and a left knee contusion, and Gerardo Parra on the 15-day disabled list with a left high-ankle sprain. Ynoa, an infielder by trade, dropped a seventh-inning fly ball, but Boone Logan pitched out of trouble.

"We're a little nicked up right now and not really in a position to take on any more [injuries]," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said.

Hot corner: It's not easy to make a Gold Glove case for Justin Turner in a game that includes Colorado third baseman Nolan Arenado. But Turner has been spectacular defensively all year and he added to the highlight reel with a backhand dive and throw to rob Tony Wolters of extra bases in the seventh, followed by a single by pinch-hitter Ryan Raburn that might have driven in Wolters.

QUOTABLE"We knew what to expect. It's been tough. He's been tough on us. He commands the ball real well, pitches backwards. You don't know what you're going to get. He doesn't throw much in the middle of the plate. He doesn't throw much straight, so you know you've got to grind against him." -- Weiss on Maeda

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDSSeager's fifth-inning homer came on a changeup -- a pitch Chatwood had thrown 78 times, with just one hit yielded, before Thursday night. Interestingly, Grandal's two-run triple -- his first in 741 days and 246 games -- later in the fifth came on another changeup.

CARGO FEELING BETTERGonzalez hit in the cage before the game and was ready to pinch-hit with runners on base in the eighth and ninth innings, but the opportunity never presented itself. He said he is "pretty confident" that he'll be in the lineup Friday against the Marlins.

"Like I said yesterday, this isn't the first time this has happened to me," Gonzalez said. "I'm sure it's going to be sore for a couple days when I play, but the more I play, it's going to go away with treatment and all the things that I need to do to prepare myself to play a game every day."

WHAT'S NEXTDodgers:Scott Kazmir, who did not accompany the Dodgers to Colorado, is scheduled to start Friday night's homestand opener against the Red Sox with a 7:10 p.m. PT start. Kazmir is 9-9 with a 3.99 ERA in 29 career starts against Boston.

Rockies:Jorge De La Rosa will take the mound Friday in the first game of a three-game series against the Marlins at 6:40 p.m. MT. De La Rosa has thrown seven quality starts in his last eight outings, the first of which was in Miami on June 20. He held the Marlins to three runs on five hits over six innings with three strikeouts and two walks.